Engineering students from UP join Hazare protest

The protest which Anna Hazare launched on Monday against the land ordinance at Jantar Mantar here saw a group of about 100 students from an engineering college in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh turning up to offer their support for the farmers' cause.

New Delhi: The protest which Anna Hazare launched on Monday against the land ordinance at Jantar Mantar here saw a group of about 100 students from an engineering college in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh turning up to offer their support for the farmers' cause.

Donning their college uniform and sporting 'Anna caps', young boys and girls of the RV Institute of Technology (RVIT) were seen waving the tricolour and chanting "Anna, Anna" at Jantar Mantar, where they have come to fulfil an initiative taken as part of their college fest.

Vaishali Rajput, a third-year student of Computer Science at RVIT, said she was "excited to celebrate their festival in this unique way".

"Our college festival, 'Manthan-2015', is currently underway. We are about 100 students who have come along with our teachers to be part of this protest. We want to extend our support to Annaji in his fight against injustice," Rajput said.

These students were among the many youths who have poured in from across the country to show solidarity for Anna's agitation.

"We have all seen on television Anna's anti-corruption movement at Ramlila Maidan and Jantar Mantar too. Being here is like a festival, the festival of democracy and the cultural vibrancy of our country," she said.

Incidentally, Hazare is likely to visit Bijnor on February 25 and February 26.

Ran Singh Arya, a researcher at the Bijnor- based NGO 'Jivan Vidya Pratisthan', which promotes organic farming, said that Hazare will pay a visit to the NGO "on the first day and, the next day, he will attend a function at RVIT's festival 'Manthan'."